Purple and Grey: 7
by fizzybubbles13
Summary: Tonks goes to work and encounters her file, problems with organization, clumsiness, and a plant. Implied RLNT. February OoTP (yes, I know I skipped two months, you'll see why in the next fic, I promise!).


Tonks goes to work and encounters her file, problems with organization, clumsiness, and a plant. Implied RLNT. February OoTP (yes, I know I skipped two months, you'll see why in the next fic, I promise!).

"Where is your mask, which one are you wearing, who are you today?

Is it on the surface, destroying your soul, or within, covering your heart?

Is your mask your hiding place, your crystal place, your retreat?"

Where is the real you, who is the real you?

Instead of a mask of concealment, instead of a cloak of fear

Why don't you reach out…"

\- M.T. Hulland

**Disclaimer: I am J.K. Rowling. I am also lying. But I wish. *sighs* :) **

Tonks was sitting at her desk in her small, cramped, and cluttered office at the Ministry of Magic. It was important to pose as loyal to the Ministry, even if she wasn't, and therefore, unfortunately still had to file paperwork for arrests.

She had just reached her hand out to grab a chocolate frog that sat in its case on her desk when her boss, Rufus Scrimeoger came striding through her door without so much of a knock, probably in the hopes of catching her in the act of something she shouldn't have been doing. Fortunately, she seemed to pass the unspoken test as his eyes roamed quickly around her room before his gaze turned to her.

"Auror Tonks, you, Auror Shaklebot, and Auror Dawlish are to go to St. Mungo's today for an investigation." Scrimeoger said.

"What for sir?" Tonks asked, reaching her hand in her desk and shuffling around all her clutter for a roll of parchment and a quill. After several minutes, she came across one, and pulled it out and set it on her untidy desktop in what she hoped was an authoritative manner.

Scrimeoger eyed her messy desk oddly but continued. "Bodrick Bode, recently admitted into St. Mungo's, was found dead this morning due to mysterious causes. You are to investigate and report back to me."

"Of course sir." Tonks said unevenly as she scribbled down a few words on her parchment I her untidy scrawl. She knew that Bode had been an Unspeakable, someone who worked in the Department of Mysteries. This was not an accident, he had clearly been murdered by Death Eaters no matter how much the Ministry refused to admit Lord Voldemort was back.

Scrimeoger was halfway out her door when he turned around. "And clean up your office, it's a right mess."

Tonks nodded but inwardly rolled her eyes. Of course he would ask her to clean it. But she really couldn't blame him, it was a terrible mess. But she really didn't want to. She cast a quick cleaning spell, causing a stack of parchment to fly somewhat neatly onto a shelf, quills to arrange themselves on the corner of her desk, her Auror certification hanging on the wall to straighten, and a few food wrappers littering the floor to float into the overflowing trashcan. She easily banished the trash and glanced around, thinking the remaining mess would have to wait.

She left her office and crossed the room to the wall of file cabinets containing a fil on every registered witch or wizard from the age of 11. Tonks found Bode's file, which was a small light blue one, in BOD (they were alphabetically organised by last name) and skimmed over it.

Bodrick Bode. Half-Blood born to Elena Lynch Bode (Half-Blood) and Sylvester Bode (Muggle-Born) on October 15th 1956.

Occupation: Unspeakable

School: Attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Gryffindor House. O.W.L.S are as follow:

Defense Against The Dark Arts: O

Transfiguration: EE

Charms: O

Potions: A

History of Magic: P

Care of Magical Creatures: A

Divination: A

Ancient Runes: O

Herbology: A

He received 4 N.E.W.T.S.

Family: Not married, no children.

Suspicions: none, a seemingly loyal Ministry employee, no proven recent connections with Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore.

Tonks was just about to turn and go back to her office to gather her things for the investigation when she had a sudden thought. Checking to make sure no one was looking, she found and copied (_Germino!_) two files, hers and Remus Lupin's. If the Ministry had a specific section labeled in each file for suspicions, were they suspicious of her and Remus?

Tonks quickly returned to her office, stuffing the copied files under a box and vowing to read them later, summoned her back, threw on her Auror robes and went to Kingsley's office.

She knocked on the door, not bothering to wait for a response and opened it, striding in. Dawlish was already waiting.

"You're late." He said impatiently.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Better late than being a prat."

Dawlish rolled his eyes at her this time, but couldn't seem to think up a good response.

Kingsley cleared his throat, gesturing a hand to his floo fireplace, filled with green flames. The three of them stepped in and were engulfed in the flames and a moment later appeared in the lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

The lobby was painted a bright white, and it seemed there was only white in every direction. Chairs, coffee tables, the entrance desk, the walls, the ceiling, the carts full of potions and other things were all white. Tonks shook her head, thinking that this was the likely the reason she enjoyed her colourful hair (today it was a bright turquois); she had been born in the hospital and decided right then and there that white was a boring colour and she needed to spruce things up a bit with a colourful morph. And thus began her metamorphagus powers.

"Come on, this way. He's in room A37B. The Healers obediently haven't touched anything." Kingsley said, leading the way down a hall.

Tonks quickly followed, but it was only a second before she tripped on a cart carrying a few empty potions bottles, sending her flying into a wall and the bottles to smash on the floor.

"Tonks!" Dawlish cried in exasperation. Kingsley strode over and waved his wand, repairing the bottles and returning them to their spot on the cart and helped her up to her feet.

Tonks waved her wand over her robes, clearing them over dust and rubbed the back of her head in slight pain where it had been in contact with the wall. "Sorry."

Dawlish rolled his eyes and turned down the hall without another word, disappearing around the corner.

Kingsley sighed. "I swear, I don't understand how you ever passed you Auror exams in Stealth and Tracking."

Tonks snorted. "Fear of Mad-Eye turning me into a ferret, I suppose. An incentive."

Kingsley gave a short laugh before continuing down the hall. "Come on."

Room A37B was devoid of any blood that would signify it to be a murder. But it was still obvious in her mind.

"No blood, no dents or physical damage to any surroundings. I'd say he was either killed somewhere else and brought here or taken by surprise." Tonks surmised.

Dawlish snorted. "Ain't that obvious?"

Tonks glared at him, thinking fervently how much she'd love to hex him in the moment. He was always getting on her nerves. "Not to one as stupid as yourself, old tosser!"

Dawlish growled and opened his mouth but Kingsley held up a hand, looking intently around. "Can't you two ever stop having a go at one another?"

"No." Tonks replied shortly, turning her back and walking along the north wall of the room.

Bode's body lay on his hospital bed, slightly spread out. There were a few markings on his neck, as well as arms. On the table next to his bed stood a lantern, a potted plant, and two empty potions bottles for curing whatever reason he was in St. Mungo's for. The window on the west wall was slightly opened and a cold breeze was blowing the old tattered red curtains slightly. Tonks peeled them back from the window to peer out, just as something tightened around her ankle.

Tonks screamed and pointed her wand at her ankle. The potted plant that had been sitting on the table next to Bode's bed had sneaked out and grabbed her ankle. She reconised it immediately, remembering what had happened after an ill-advised prank on her Potions professor.

"It's a venomous tactula!" Tonks yelled to the others, who upon further inspection seemed to suffering from the plant as well.

"Are you sure?" Dawlish shouted, his response slightly muffled from the tentacles wrapping themselves over his face and mouth.

"Yes, I'm sure! I got an Outstanding O.W.L and N.E.W.T.S in Herbology!" Tonks replied, annoyed. She tried to break the tentacles' grip on her with a few spells, desperately trying to remember how to get them off their victims.

"HOW DO YOU GET RID OF THE BLOODY THING THEN?!" Yelled Dawlish in frustration, although it came out more like 'THOW THU THU THET RITH OTH THE THOODY THING THEN?!"

Kingsley was already beginning to go purple in the face, gasping for breath and attempting to curse the plant's tentacles to no avail. Tonks racked her brain for a solution, the tentacles pulling her to the floor and twisting themselves around her abdomen tightly, trapping her.

Kingsley gave a shuddering breath and fell unconscious due to lack of oxygen, causing Tonks to panic even further. The vines were wrapping themselves around her neck, this wasn't how she envisioned going out…

"SEVERING CHARM!" She choked out suddenly, remembering how to get rid of them.

Dawlish wasted no time in using the Severing Charm against his vines, and neither did Tonks.

"Diffindo!" She exclaimed, and a few of the vines split, falling to the floor and oozing a white substance. Tonks repeated the spell a few times before all the tentacles had fallen.

Jumping up from her position on the floor she rushed to Kingsley's side and preformed the charm several times on his vines, freeing him of the constricting plants and laid him on the floor.

"Rennervate." Tonks said, waving her wand over his face. Dawlish stood in the corner, grasping his arm which was cut open.

Kingsley gave a loud gasping cough and his eyes fluttered open, his hands reaching for his throat.

"Oh, thank Merlin." Tonks sighed thankfully.

"You had us worried there for a second, Kingsley." Dawlish said, though he didn't look all too worried.

Tonks sat up. "Well, at least we know what killed Bode then. But how did it get in here?"

"I can answer that." Said a familiar voice from the doorway. Hestia was standing there, in her Healer robes, clearly in the middle of a work day.

"Hestia!" Tonks exclaimed.

Dawlish turned to look at her. "How do you know…?"

Tonks realised her mistake instantly. "Oh, uh, she was my Healer a couple times before. Been injured a lot."

"But you rarely get injured on missions…" Dawlish replied, still looking at her suspiciously.

"I trip a lot, alright?" Tonks said irritably, thinking that it wasn't too far-fetched. "So anyway, how did the venomous tactula get in here?"

"A visitor brought it in." Hestia said ruefully. "We didn't think to check it. Strangled him, by the looks of it. I saw you guys struggling. Didn't reconise it before. I'm sorry."

"'S alright." Kingsley said, sitting up, still looking a bit winded.

"Here I'll help." Hestia said, helping him to his feet and fumbling around her pockets for her wand. She pointed it at his neck, uttered a spell, and his strangulation wound disappeared.

"Thanks." Kingsley replied.

"We have a report." Dawlish said. "Let's get back to the Ministry."

Tonks groaned. Leave it to him to bring up something totally boring after something interesting, even if it was life threatening. But then she remembered the files she had hidden in her office and complied.

They returned to the office, and Tonks hastily wrote a report of the events at the hospital and submitted it to Scrimeoger. Then she pulled out the files out from under the box and opened hers first.

Nymphadora Tonks. Half-Blood born to Andromeda Black Tonks (Pure-Blood) and Edward Tonks (Muggle-Born) on November 15th 1973.

Occupation: Auror

Metamorphagus

School: Attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1984 and was sorted into Hufflepuff House. O.W.L.S are as follow:

Defense Against The Dark Arts: O

Transfiguration: EE

Charms: O

Potions: EE

History of Magic: A

Care of Magical Creatures: A

Divination: P

Ancient Runes: P

She received 5 N.E.W.T.S.

Family: Not married, no children.

Suspicions: Odd comings and goings at odd hours. Seen in public with Remus John Lupin. Has seemed more tired than usual lately; claims it is from all the paperwork.

Tonks sighed and closed the file. Of course, no one could be completely free of suspicions. But why did it include Remus? She stuffed the extra file under the box in the corner and took out his.

Remus John Lupin. Half-Blood born to Hope Howell Lupin (Muggle) and Lyall Lupin (Pure-Blood) on March 10th 1960.

Occupation: None.

**WEREWOLF; BE AWARE, HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND NOT TO BE TRUSTED.**

School: Attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1971 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. O.W.L.S are as follow:

Defense Against The Dark Arts: O

Transfiguration: O

Charms: O

Potions: A

History of Magic: A

Care of Magical Creatures: A

Divination: A

Ancient Runes: EE

He received 5 N.E.W.T.S.

Family: Not married, no children. Poses danger to society.

Suspicions: Likely loyal to Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore.

Ah. So they included the part about him in her file assuming that her contact with him had been out of loyalty to Dumbledore. Tonks squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. Things were just stupid.

Just then, she heard footsteps coming down the hall towards her office and she quickly shoved the file under the box before jumping up to sit at her desk and look busy. Unfortunately, in a fit of clumsiness, she tripped over the edge of her file cabinet, sending it crashing to the floor, taking her along with it.

Scrimeoger opened the door to find her face down on the floor next to the file cabinet. He inhaled sharply, closed his eyes, and massaged his forehead. "What did you do, Auror Tonks?"

"Tripped, sir. Sorry." Tonks grimaced, standing up and rubbing her bruised kneecap.

With a flick of his wand, Scrimeoger righted the file cabinet. "I just came here to say to keep up the good work. You finished your report quickly, and without many mistakes, it was recounted well."

"Thanks sir."

Scrimeoger just nodded and left, his cloak floating behind him. Tonks sighed and sunk into a desk, wanting tea and a hot bath. Today was a day.

**AN: Thanks so much for reading! I know Remus wasn't in this one, but I sorta think it's important for her to live a life away from him too. Also, sorry for not posting this last night, I was super busy but I'm posting it now! If there are any errors or you just feel like giving me some insults (or compliments, those'd be appreciated too!), please review! And just have a good day, people! :) **


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